Bannon says he respects the Time's Up movement

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon respects the Time's Up movement against sexual harassment, even if h...

Posted: Mar. 1, 2018 9:45 AM

Updated: Mar. 1, 2018 4:16 PM

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon respects the Time's Up movement against sexual harassment, even if he doesn't agree with it, and says he's taking a cue from the movement as he forms a new political organization.

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"It's basically going against 10,000 years of recorded history. That's the power of it. You see here something that's in a very early, raw stage, but I've never seen such potential power in something," Bannon said in a new interview in GQ, adding that it is a "reaction to this populist movement, this nationalist movement."

Bannon said the Time's Up movement -- which has been raising money for a legal defense fund for victims of sexual harassment and abuse across industries -- is "quite powerful" and that he's "100%" studying it as he plans to launch a foundation or 501(c)(4) organization.

His comments on Time's Up are especially notable because he was charged in a domestic violence case stemming from an incident involving his ex-wife more than 20 years ago. The case was eventually dismissed. A spokeswoman for Bannon told Politico at the time that Bannon had a "great relationship" with the ex-wife.

"I respect it. I don't agree with it, but I respect it," he said, adding, "That's going to become powerful, and I'll tell you why. They had a million people in the streets throughout the nation (for the second Women's March)."

A person familiar with Bannon's thinking told CNN in February that Bannon admires the raw political power of what he calls the "anti-patriarchy movement."

Bannon, who was fired from the White House last August and was pushed out of his position at Breitbart in January, said his organization will focus on "the weaponizing of ideas" but that he hasn't outlined any specific policies to tackle.

"It doesn't need to have policies yet. The Tea Party didn't have policies in its first couple of years, but it was against Obamacare. There's plenty of power in just being against. The Five Star Movement in Italy, it's just against, right?" he said.

Bannon made similar comments in February, telling "Devil's Bargain" author Joshua Green that "the anti-patriarchy movement is going to undo ten thousand years of recorded history" while watching the Golden Globe Awards.

"You watch. The time has come. Women are gonna take charge of society," Bannon said, according to Green. "And they couldn't juxtapose a better villain than Trump. He is the patriarch. This -- the Golden Globe Awards -- is a definitional moment in the culture. It'll never be the same going forward," he added.